concludes. the second term for president barack obama sends a powerful message about the changing electorate. here in california, big win for governor jerry brown and his proposition 30, brings relief to scho schools. >> californians made the courageous decision to protect our schools and colleges and strengthen the california dream. bl >> belva: and a win-win for california democrats with an apparent two-thirds super majority in the legislature and the ability to raise taxes without votes from republicans. >> i promise that we will exercise this new power with strength but also with humility and with reason. >> belva: also, author maya angelou shares her story and warm words of wisdom about the meaning of friendship. >> it keeps you alive. it keeps you awake. it keeps you trying to be the best. >> belva: coming up next. .

hello, i'm belva davis, and welcome to "this week in northern california." joining me on this special night, my last, as host here are jill tucker, "san francisco chronicle". lisa vor der brugen, "bay area news group." paul rogers, environment writer for "san jose mercury news." and carla marinucci, "san francisco chronicle," senior political reporter. carla, you get to have all the

fun. you were in chicago on tuesday night. tell us what was it like. were people surprised at the close, the short drama? >> well, you know, belva, we were in the snoechs the snoeno hampshire, you know how dramatic it was all the way through. just amazing to be there on that final night. this was a much different election night than 2008, when 250,000 people greeted this sort of landmark moment. barack obama is more weathered, he's -- >> belva: graying. >> graying, but boy, the -- the democrats there, it was just pandemonium. and i think -- this time, it was tears of relief. instead of joy. that this contest has been so tough, so expensive and so important in so many ways and we saw it so negative that i think people are glad it's over, but to be there and to watch the

president give that address and we heard him today in washington talking about what happens now in this country. i think the republicans learned from this election, what we saw in this election, we've seen in california decades before. the ethnic vote, the latino vote, the youth vote, the women's vote. this is -- this has been an electorate that's made a difference, reshaped california politics and we see what's happened here with the republicans now down to 29% of the vote. >> belva: i want to turn to paul, because paul has special powers. you made an election prediction the show, so, we're going to see just how close you came. paul, you want to take a swing at it? >> mitt romney will survive the challenge from newt gingrich and

barack obama will win narrowly re-election with 290 electoral votes. >> specific. >> he will win the state of ohio on the strength of saving the auto industry. >> belva: well, paul. >> wow! impressive. >> i was a little too conservative. >> belva: well, you were wrong on the electoral vote, at least. >> i didn't get florida for him. in that column. >> belva: so, what are your thoughts now? what made you so sure that this was going to be our future? >> a couple of things. no incumbent president -- there's a lot of noise we hear day-to-day in political coverage, this person made this gaffe or that person had this many people at their rally, but the truth is, no incumbent president who has not had a challenge from his own party in the primary has lost re-election since 1932, herbert hoover. it is almost impossible to defeat an incumbent president when his party is unified.

second, the auto bailout was enormous. i lived in ohio. i have family in cincinnati and toledo. 1 in 7 jobs in ohio is related to the auto industry. and there were 10,000 people working at that jeep plant in toledo. that community was terrified. and they had a clear black and white choice on that one issue. who was for them, who wasn't for them? and then, finally, there was a weak field. let's be honest. the primary candidates were one of the weakest fields that the republicans had ever run. the big guns, the jeb bushes, they sat it out. so, you know, it was going to be hard, even with the bad economy, for obama to lose. >> i think you're right, paul it wasn't just jobs and the economy, i was climate change. it was reproductive rights. it was gay marriage. there were a lot of issues that have changed in the last ten years and the republicans just did not -- >> the democrat graphic shift, this is a realignment election. it happens once in a generation. in 1980, 91% of the people who voted for the president were white in the united states.

last tuesday, it was 72%. that number is going to continue to change. and the republican southern strategy for 50 years, that they have had, which is, reach out to mostly rural, mostly religious, mostly older white people, the math does not add up anymore. barack obama had an 80/40 strategy. you win 80% of the nonwhite vote, which is 30% and you win 40% of the white vote. add that together, you get 52%. that's what he did. >> you know what i thought was interesting, though? it would seem a lot of people are talking about how this election was a wakeup call for the republicans and what was, you know, they're going to have to court the hispanic vote, they have to start addressing immigration, climate change, et cetera, and yet, the same thing, you were talking about, happened in california and yet, the republicans needed to wake up in california and yet, where are we today? k in california? >> the california republican party chairman came out with the same rhetoric he's been coming out with for years.

i didn't detect any wakeup tone in his press release. >> in fact, the chairman of the california democratic party was almost ignored at the republican national convention, he was sort of a sideline guy, because he's the big guy, he's the guy that wanted to bring all the minority groups into the process. >> you're right. and it wasn't just the issues in the demographics, let's talk about technology, too. when you talk about -- i went to nevada, i went to colorado, to see the get out the vote effort, the obama team, and it was in social media, even in the last hours of this election, there were californians on the phones, getting e-mails from the campaign, making phone calls with touch screen, i mean, this is beyond what anyone had ever seen and the republicans were just washed out when -- >> in 2008, the turnout was not an anomaly. they got the turnout again. they were able to get everybody out. >> belva: jill, you were with the old guy that got a few mir

kms, too. what was the passage of proposition 30 mean to educators and children? >> well, in california, that sound you heard was the collective sigh of relief of 400,000 teachers on election night, that they are not going to have these trigger cuts. and jerry brown pushed that through. it did not look good prior to election day, but i will say, in california, the unions, like in some other states, made a big difference for the democrats and -- >> the youth vote made a huge differences. >> the parents were out, teachers were out. the union really got people organized to get the vote out at the last minute. and it wasn't as close as people thought. >> why did those polls show it being so far off and have it win? >> i think a lot of people didn't want to vote for it, they felt a little bullied by it but in the end, they just could don't to the ballot box and say no and have all these cuts, so, it really, for schools in california, it's not as if they're going to get this huge amount of money and think they're going to all of a sudden be better. it keeps the status quo. and the big question i have is,

what does the super majority in the -- in sacramento now mean. are they going to be able to restore funding in schools? are they going to make that a priority, on top of having just passed prop 30? >> well, prop 30 to me was huge for two reasons. one, for jerry brown's legacy. if he lost that, the rest of his governorship would have been, cut, cut, cut and he may well not have run for re-election because of that. instead, he has the wind at his back. and second, and i think this is most important, since 1998 in california, we have been talking about, the budget is broken, a structural deficit, california is greece, it can't get its house in order. the budget is now balancebalanc. you can't even believe it. and yes, there are some problems here and there, but this is the closest we've been in 15 years. it's an amazing thing. >> belva: we have to turn to lisa, find out only of the things that happened locally. >> yes, yes. hundreds of local ballot measures on the big talk, even across the nation, was in

richmond, where the very first national -- very first tax on the nation in soda, anti-obesity measure went down in flames. it fizzled big time. you know, 60%, 70% said no. richmond does not want to be singled out for the fat people's tax. they don't want it. oakland zoo tax went down. no money for the critters, i guess. alameda transportation tax on the cusp, fire tax went down, huge amount. four, five fire stations are going to close. in the biggest part of the county starting in january. and in berkeley, it is still legal to sit on the sidewalk. voters said, no, we're not going after the homeless. >> what about the berkeley mirrors race? >> mr. tom bates survived the ranked choice voting effort to try to have a replica of what happened in oakland when don

perotta lost. the big question, tom bates loved ranked voting, would he love it after? he's still a fan. >> what about the top test of the top two primary system and redistricting in the pete stark race? where a lot of people thought 20-term dean of the congressional delegation was never going to be defeated by a young prosecutor. >> well, pete stark had a couple of things working against him. one, of course, was pete stark, you know, he behaved badly. and eric, the challenger who won, 31-year-old dublin councilman, prosecutor, he had two bites at that apple, so, unlike prior years where he would have lost in the primary, he gets to come back. two democrats against each other and with pete stark behaving very badly, i think those two things -- >> belva: what about oakland? they have a new city council? >> yeah, they have new members of the city council. dela fuentes off the council, first time in many years and big hard battle with rebecca came

lan caplan, a very ambitious politician. maybe it's just the time for the changing of the guard. >> belva: seems pleased to go to work with their colleagues. >> we'll see how long that lasts. it is oakland. we'll see. >> belva: well, in san francisco, another little note, in the election here, on our own legislative body, we have it for almost 20 years had two black people on that board of supervisors and we do now, connecting the two areas where minorities live, that is the fillmore district, so, this was unusually active and changing of the guard election season. >> yeah, i think so. when we talk about jerry brown, some of issues, i mean, californians hate a message, kind of went against the grain of other states, saying, i'm willing to pay the tax to save

my school and on the issue of climate change, 39 was another proposition where they said, we're willing to approve a tax. >> we're in danger of california of losing our reputation as an anti-tax state. >> it's important to remember on both of those taxes, 30 and 39, most of the people voting, the vast majority, were not having to pay the tax, right? other than the sales tax portion of brown's tax, most of that was upper income. and prop 39 closed a loophole, out of state companies, and that's going to bring in a billion dollars more a year to california. half of that money is going in the first five years to renewable energy projects, energy efficiency projects at schools. going to create a lot of jobs. and its chairman who put $29 million into it is probably going to be a novembcandidate f governor. >> or cabinet. >> why proposition 38 went down? the other education -- >> well, i think part of it was

the amount of money that the teacher's union sent against it. and the governor coming out, saying, look, we just have to get this done. but it went down by a greater margin than i thought. there were a lot of people who voted for both, sort of hinging their bet. and i think there was a lot on the ball lot for all voters and i thought to a large degree they seemed very thoughtful. >> and to paul's point, a lot of people would have had to pay under the munger legislation. >> everybody. >> where at some of the others, i'm not in that category. >> belva: turning back to the national scene, we're going to see some changes in the new administration in washington? >> well, there are some californians, we talked about tom, the proponent of prop 39, who is a billionaire hedge fund manager, but somebody who has shown a record to get things through. he worked on, with george shultz on another climate change-related ballot measure. this is a guy to watch. energy secretary, you mentioned, possibly. people have talked about harris,

the district, former district attorney of san francisco and now attorney general. chef h she has been all over the obama campaign, very important surrogate for him. people look to her to have some kind of role in the administration. people have looked at steve wesley, former state controller is another example and antonio villaraigosa. >> maybe not so much pelosi, right? >> and then there's speculation, what happens to nancy pelosi? will she -- >> one of the rare democratic losers from the bay area in this election. she didn't regain the house. >> belva: hardest worker -- >> hard worker. >> >> belva: never gets to take home. also, three strikes was a surprise. >> yeah, i think that may have been something where people were looking, again, at the cost. but they weren't willing to go so far as to overturn the death penalty. it was also interesting on the genetically modified food, prop

37. a lot of money came in from big food companies to defeat that, but people in the bay area who were surprised, that was poorly worded and they didn't make a clear case that genetically modified food is dangerous to eat because that hasn't been made scientifically. >> belva: what happened with the ricky gill/mcnearney race? >> oh, that's right, we have to remember that district. mcnearney survived his election. ricky gill, the hope of the party, the 25-year-old, fizzled out as well along with the soda tox. he didn't rise to the occasion. >> belva: we live in an exciting time. >> we do. >> belva: so everybody has enough work to go, understand what the voters are saying. >> embarrassment of riches in the state. >> belva: well, throughout my career, the most significant constant in my life has been the support and guidance of friend. for well over 40 years, brilliant author maya angelou has always found time to be supportive. so, true to form, when i asked

her if i could come to her home in north carolina and interview her, the 84-year-old legend quickly agreed. i asked her to speak to all of us about friendship and how it shapes who we are and what we become. >> it really is, probably one of the real reasons why the stars are in the -- and the blood runs orderly in our veins. >> belva: her life has been populated with friends. and there have been many famous ones, from civil rights activist malcolm x to oprah winfrey. yet, some of her closest friends have included people not as well known. you once explained to me the differences between friends and acquaintances. would you share that with us? >> friendship, it keeps you alive, it keeps you awake, it

keeps you trying to be the best. and in the middle of the night, when you're lonely and most -- and feel most -- most at odds with yourself and with life and maybe with god, you can call a friend. >> belva: today, the term friend has taken on a new meaning in the age of social media. yet, angelou remains steadfast in her belief of the power of meaningful relationships. >> a friend made up a page for me on facebook. and she called me a few months ago and said that i had 3 million friends. and i said, well, i don't think so. i'm lucky to have ten. i'm sorry when a young person or

an old person, for that matter, makes the mistake of thinking that the accident or maybe incident of meeting another person on a level makes you immediately a friend. >> belva: author, singer, performer, actress, dancer and composure. angelou's achievements have spanned more than four decades. she is also a filmmaker. >> we're very proud of that aircraft. >> i'm very proud, too. i think all black americans who see this will be very proud, too. >> belva: in 1968, she wrote, produced and narrated a documentary series for kqed about the african-american experience called "blacks, blues, black." here at her home in north carolina, her garden is filled with friends. if you walk around your house,

there are friends in almost every room, your library, hundreds of books. talk about the friends from these books. >> i'm a product of the men and women who went before me. and i'm grateful to them. the writers who informed me, james baldwin, of course. shakespeare. of course. john killen. books have meant too much to me. i spent seven years of my life as a mute. but i read. i read everything. and i memorized everything. so many writers, i just -- i absorbed them. and they still inform my life. >> belva: books not only helped

her gain her voice but transformed her path. encouraged by her good friend, james baldwin, she wrote her first novel, the all biographical "i know why the changed bird sings" in 1968. since then, she's written everything from poems to children's books to cookbooks. in 1992, her poetry reached millions of americans at president bill clinton's inauguration. >> across the wall of the world, a river sings a beautiful song. it says, "come, rest here by my side." >> belva: and while her writing continues to inspire audiences of all generations, her impact doesn't end there. you've spent your life helping others, reaching out, supporting, including me. why do you do that? what motivates you inside? with your celebrity status, that

you feel you still need to reach back? >> i owe it to another person to say what i've learned. i think that each one of us lives in direct relation to the heroes and sheroes that we have. always and always. you have to have enough courage to be a hero/shero. would courage, you canbe anythi. kind, fair, true, generous, blah, blah, blah, but to be that thing time after time, you have to have courage. >> belva: angelou believes that we all have a hero or a shero inside of us. one of her heroes is the reverend cecil williams, who leads glide memorial church's

program to serve the poor. her advice to young and old is the same. an impassioned call to be courageous. >> you have to use your art to speak back. you must do it. and continue to do it as well as you can. and that's god, the creator, to encourage you to be more creative. and each of us comes from the creation, trailing wisps of glory. this is what we have to do. constantly. don't give up. don't give in. give. >> belva: i asked her, what keeps her creating, doing, being? >> i'm blessed and i'm now celebrating my 84th year. on this earth. it's a blessing. to be of use.

anybody that can't be of use is of useless. i will not be abused, i will not be misused, but i will be of use. >> belva: recently, maya angelou shared an honor with other humanitarians, like mother teresa and her friend, dr. martin luther king jr., as the historic unveiling of "remember them: champions for humanity" at the henry j. kaiser park in downtown oakland. as a former bay area resident, it's an honor she treasured. >> thank you. thank you. thank you. >> belva: thank you. and now, i add other thank yous to my friends and colleagues here at kqed who have been nurturing and really gallant in bringing this program to you each and every week. to the late john rosack who produced this program for many years and for those of you who have taken the time to watch and those who have stopped me to say hello, you've made this journey so special.

i will miss you all. i thank you all and that's all. for tonight. >> we have something to say, we want to say to you, too. i remember interviewing you last year, you know, we were chitchatting after the interview and all this whining about some trivial thing to do with my job and you said to me, "no excuses, i worked too hard, too many years, for you to be where you are." so, thank you, belva, for all you've done for women, for journalists, for me and for being such a good advice, such good advice, no excuses. >> for more than a decade, we've worked with you, we've learned with you and tried to emulate your greatest success, the difference that you've made in the lives of all those people out there. this is not the final chapter, we're going to be watching to see where you go next. it will be worth watching. >> you know, democracy only works when people are informed and for 50 years, you have

informed, educate and entertained those of us in the bay area and you've done it with grace and poise and fairness and that's a priceless gift. so, thank you very much. >> belva, i grew up watching you and it has been a thrill and privilege to sit at this table with you and an honor to consider you a friend. >> belva: they don't have to be nice to me. >> and belva -- >> belva: yes, sir? >> after all these years, your journalist friends should really learn from you, because we politicians love you dearly. we can't remember when you said, "go y "got you." congratulations. >> belva: oh, thank you. in case you didn't know, that's willie louis brown. and who is out there? come on. is that my family? my wonderful little granddaughter. >> hello. i'm the president of kqed.

and on behalf of everyone here, i want to express our heartfelt gratitude to belva davis for her nearly five decades as a pioneering broadcast journalist in the bay area. and almost 20 years right here as host of "this week in northern california." we also thank you, our loil viewers, an assure you that kqed's commitment to a weekly program is as strong as ever. during this important transition, we welcome and encourage comments or suggestions from you, our audience. for the next few months, "this week" will continue with guest hosts and we will premiere with a new host this winter. we thank you for your loyal viewership and support of kqed.